


Confessional

by jessfeels



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Once Upon a Time (TV) References, Original Characters - Freeform, Outlaw Queen - Freeform, Please Don't Hate Me, Slow Burning, The Enchanted Forest, but not so slow, it would make u cry, robin and Regina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-09 14:58:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18919351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessfeels/pseuds/jessfeels
Summary: For some ridiculous reason, I began to like her. Despite her arrogance, despite her lack of compassion, acid and dangerous humor, Regina had a heart and not any heart, but a wounded one. She was suffering.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So here am I. I hope u guys enjoy this story, it is one of my faves. I'm going solo in the first chaps because my beta is working too hard, so if y'all find some english issues, I'm working on it. Improvement takes time.

Life is a shit.

But I am shitter.

That’s the mantra that I take my daily life. Also sliding in the skirts of sneaky women, stealing money and turning mugs until I'm down in any sordid, filthy corner. Do you think I care? You're wrong. I don’t give a damn.

My name is Robin. Robin of Locksley. I have medium height, straight hair and streaked in a light brown, almost blond. I know I'm attractive, but I don’t do much to keep it like that. There are not many women around here who are worth the investment, and those who have a relatively decent appearance have served almost the entire village. I'll dispense them - except if I'm too drunk. In that case, they take care of me.

Tonight will be just one more of the hundreds nights I spent at the tavern. Drinking cheap beer, watching those filthy bearded fights with each other until they fell into an alcoholic coma. Maybe later I can go to the card table, but I stole so much money from them the last time I doubt they let me participate.

_Assholes._

I was laughing at an idiot who got the face slapped by one of the sneaky sluts by the tavern when John filled my mug again and caught my eye.

"Did you see her?"

"I saw who your drunken idiot?"

"That girl who showed up at the door."

"I have my back to the door, how would I see her?"

"Rough yours, Locky." He laughed, pounding the mug against mine. "She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"You don’t even know what a woman is, you pig." I pushed him away from me.

"The girl was a princess."

Matthew's voice surprised me. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. He was a coward, but I knew he was a good person.

"But a pity that she ran out. If she went in, I would invite her to drink with me."

I looked back and found the door closed, but the thought incinerated me. Who would that girl be? What would her story be?


	2. Chapter 2

**Enchanted Forest - Past.**   
  


We were crossing the forest when we heard that noise again. A sharp, leaking cry - something horribly disturbing. They were common sounds, except for the female screams. I hit the ropes on my horse and ran in the direction of the screams.

A horrible creature was attacking two women.

"Get down!" I shouted, already pulling the bow from my shoulder and placing an arrow over it. I pulled the bristle and hit the creature on the shoulder, which flew away immediately.

They were lying on the ground as I approached.

"Ladies." I shook hands, holding them up. Shit. This was the Evil Queen, the fearsome Regina. Her fist was scratched, and the fabric of her sleeve was torn. "She's hurt."

"It's 'Your Majesty' and I'm fine, thanks." She hissed, glaring at me for a few seconds before looking back at the floor.

Typical snobbish behavior of royalty.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

"We don’t ask for your help."

My God, how could this woman be more insolent?

"I'm grateful for the help." The other woman cut her off, holding my hand and rising delicately. She was beautiful, had sweet eyes and long hair that fell on the white coat she wore. Her face was familiar to me...

"Robin, Robin of Locksley." I identified myself, and then I pointed to the boys who were beginning to approach. "And these are some of my men."

"I'm Snow White."

"We finally met in person." I smiled at her. "There was a time when we were both wanted fugitives."

"If you really Snow White, what are you doing with _her_?" John asked. Regina stared at him in annoyance. She was beautiful in person, it was hard not to notice.

"She? Show some respect." She looked him up and down with contempt. "Or control what you put on the plate."

And there went the admiration. So beautiful, but so... petulant.

"You'll have to forgive little John. But before you cast this curse, we had a hard time fleeing from your black knights."

"I'm sure you deserved it." She snapped. "What the hell was it that struck me?"

 I looked at the trees.

"I have no idea. I've never seen an animal like that before."

That guttural sound echoed from somewhere and Snow turned and started to walk.

"Let's go this way. We need to alert the others."

 

***

 

I was right behind the crowd walking to Regina's castle. After meeting Belle and Baelfire, I felt at home again. It had been many years since I felt comfortable like this. Marian's death had taken away much of the good things in life. I heard the sharp sound of that creature. Baelfire screamed and the only thing I could think of was Roland. He was in front of the crowd.

I pushed some people in a hurry, and I screamed for him as I tried to run to where he was.

But the sweetest thing happened. The Queen turned the creature into a teddy bear, and as soon as I took my child in her arms, she approached us with a genuine smile on her face.

"Now he's not so scary anymore, and you've got a new toy."

"Thank you." I told her, but I knew no word would be enough to thank her and apologize for misjudging her. She was really changed. At another time, it would be hard to imagine the Queen saving anyone but herself.

Roland hugged the bear, and I smiled at her again.

Embraced to my son, I followed the conversation between them. Supposedly, who was occupying the castle was the Wicked Witch of the west or the east. I had no idea who that person might be, but from their tone of voice it was obvious she was not one of us. I heard Regina and Snow arguing about something.

"This is a job for only one person."

"Regina." The princess seemed genuinely concerned about her. "She has flying monkeys, and who knows what else."

"I don’t care if bouncing lollipops are defending her. I can take down the shield alone, and that's what I'll do. "

Snow was smart enough to don’t confront her.

I watched her move away, but a thought made me impatient. She had just saved my son's life. How could I let her go into the castle by herself? Or into the forest? It was not fair, nor right. I needed to do something to help her.

***

 

It was already dark.

For a woman, Regina was strong enough. She'd walked enough to make a healthy man tired. I watched her as she lifted an immense stone with the help of her powers. As she hurled the stone away, our eyes met.

"Oh no." She mumbled.

I walked over to her with the torch burning in my left hand.

"No what?"

"You are not going."

"Go with you? I believe I will." I walked past her and kept walking. "I can help."

"I did not ask for help."

"That does not mean you will not need it." I approached her. The fire of the torch lit us and I could see that face. Beautiful, yet deadly. She stared at me with her eyes full of anger. "That flying monkey was not after my son. He was going after you."

"What made you think that?"

"This forest is my home. I've seen many hunters and how they chase their hunts. And I'm saying: that winged beast was behind you. Roland just got in its way. "

"That is?"

"It's the second time you’ve been attacked. The Wicked Witch wants you dead."

She glanced at me, the indifference draining from every cell in her body.

"And? Do you think _you_ can stop her from hurting me?"

"Maybe yes maybe no. But I'll try. Although we both don’t like it, I'm in debt with you." I replied, and I kicked the ground again with the tip of my boot.

"Because?"

"Even if that winged beast didn’t want my son, it could have hurt him. You saved his life."

She looked at me almost gently. She looked me up and down and smiled at me and I almost liked her. Almost.

"Who would say that a thief has honor?"

"Who would have thought the Evil Queen had a soft spot on children?" I rebuffed.

She took a deep breath after breaking our eye contact.

"Do not stand in my way."

I nodded my head.

"I would not even dream of it."

She took a few steps in front of me, and I followed her.


	3. Chapter 3

I held the torch in front of us, leaving my hand at the base of her spine. We were walking through a dark cave, and my fear was to let something happen to the Queen. I would have trouble explaining myself later.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Not that I really cared, but the silence was disturbing.

"There is a fire in the courtyard of the castle that increases the power of the Wicked Witch. While it is burning, it keeps the shield on."

"We just have to erase it."

"I need to erase it." She replied, her voice intense and sexy emphasizing 'me' while looking into my eyes. "You need to stay out of my way."

Before I could continue walking, she placed her arm at the height of my abs, preventing me from walking. I noticed that she had stopped too. There were a series of plaques on the floor, forming a kind of checkered territory.

"Step between the plates." She guided me.

"Beautiful surprise." I mumbled.

All I wanted now was to go through a minefield.

"It was meant to keep people like you away."

"People like me?" Was she trying to offend me?

"Thieves."

"Oh yes of course. But we're not all bad, you know? "

"Not when you insist that you steal from the rich to give to the poor. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, but at least I admit it."

This woman had begun to irritate me deeply. Why did I come to help her?

"I've made my mistakes, too." I replied, glaring at her. "I hope you did not let me accompany you just to fall into one of those traps."

She was listening intently to me.

"Roland already lost his mother. I would hate it if he lost his father too."

"Then you should have stayed with the others." She whispered, and a frighteningly diabolical smile was born on her lips.

I began to wonder if it had been a good idea to go there. I couldn’t go back without her, and I would probably die - she knew that way better than me. I had acted on my code of conduct, and if there was anything I did not regret, it was the code. Whatever the motivation behind that beautiful face, I would have to accept it and not run away. She was the Queen, but she was not God.

"So..." She kept walking, and I was just after her. "Roland's mother... What happened to her?"

"After our son was born, I..." The memory caused me bad tingling. "I put her in danger during a job. It was my fault." I took a deep breath, but I didn’t have the balls to look at her again. "Like I said, I have my mistakes too."

Regina stopped again, making me almost bump into her.

"It's not possible." She argued.

In front of us was an entrance.

"What?"

"That door is open!"

"You did not leave it open?"

"I locked her with blood magic." She said, shaking her head from side to side. "I'm the only one who could open it."

"Clearly it is not." I replied, stepping away to explore the place. "It looks like the Wicked Witch is a formidable opponent."

We passed the entrance, and entered a huge room. Regina was in front of me, and she walked without looking at me, approaching a tomb centered in that place.

"What is this place, exactly?"

"A crypt, is not it obvious?"

I already knew it was a crypt, Your Majesty.

"Yes, I understood that part. But for whom was it made? It must have been someone very important, after all, you sealed it with blood magic. "

"It was my mother's." She replied, making me bite my tongue in regret.

She was leaning over the grave and I could feel her pain from far away. Whoever would say that the Evil Queen was human and astounded, she had feelings.

"Like you, I lost a lot of people I loved. More than I like to admit. "

"Including a child?"

I needed to know. It was corroding me.

She glanced at me over her shoulder, clearly offended.

"What do you know about that?"

"I saw the way that took Roland out of the way. You have the touch of a mother."

She circled the grave, facing me.

"I have."

"The child is not here with us. What happened?"

"He's not dead, if that's what you're thinking. He's just..." She slid her palm across the marble of the grave. Her countenance was painfully sad. "He's lost to me. Forever."

I didn’t want her to die. For some ridiculous reason, I started liking her. Despite her arrogance, despite the lack of compassion, the acid and dangerous humor, Regina had a heart - not any heart, but a well-hurt one. All the chaos she had provided for years was almost justifiable. She was suffering.

"If this Wicked Witch can break a blood spell" I started uncertain, afraid that Regina would throw a ball of fire in my face. "Would not it be nice to reconsider the plan?"

"I don’t care how powerful this ridiculous bitch is." Regina's voice was almost palpable. I need to continue with this "I do not care how powerful this ridiculous bitch is." Regina's voice was almost palpable. "I need to continue with this plan."

She continued to walk into the castle. Every second, this plan was even more dangerous. But what choice did I have?

 

***

 

Regina opened two long, elegant doors. She was clearly familiar with that place.

"Be useful. Stay on your guard."

I rolled my eyes. I could argue against this offense, but it was a waste of time. I closed the door while Regina fumbled in some box. I had no idea what she was planning.

But something there was familiar to me, and a horrible sense of mistrust lodged in my chest.

"What is this?" I inquired.

"Nothing that is any of your business." She hissed.

The Evil Queen was back. Or she had never left. One way or another, I knew many deaths and many stories about the cruelty, tyranny, and malice that shaped her title. I was not going to let her put everything to waste. Not even. I reached out and took an arrow, placing it in my bow and placing it on my crosshair.

"I will not ask again. What is it?"

"How dare you threaten me inside my own castle?" She demanded, her voice incorporating a noble and vengeful tone.

She raised her hand and squeezed the air. My trachea followed its movement, so that the air became thinner. I could barely breathe. I felt my head aching, and my chest began to burn.

"Even if you choke me to death." I managed to speak with difficulty. There was little room for air to pass. "That arrow will still come out of my bow, and I never missed any targets. Now tell me what kind of potion you're doing."

I imagined that would be my end, and I could have died in worse ways. Meanwhile, Regina let go of her magic.

"It's a curse of sleep."

She went back to the table, ignoring me.

"The same kind you used in Snow White?"

"That spell was made by Maleficent. I finally learned to do it myself."

"A spell? Is that why you went back to the castle? "

"Ingredients like this are hard to find. Especially if you have Snow White breathing in your neck every second of the day. "

"Is that your plan? Use this on the Wicked Witch?"

She would not even look at me.

"The Wicked Witch?" A dry laugh escaped her lips. "I don’t care about her."

I watched as she slipped her hand through the bottle and the liquid turned purple.

"So you plan on using that potion on who?"

"Do not worry." Her gaze was chilling in my direction. "No one you'll miss. No one would anyone miss. "

As soon as I saw her putting the last touch and saw the sad way she looked in the mirror, I understood what it was. I was an imbecile. How had I not noticed that before?

"This is about your son, is not it?"

I could not watch that.

"I can’t allow you to do this."

"The good thing is you can’t stop me." She replied, and with a flick of her fingers she launched some kind of magic that kept me from getting off the ground. I was trapped, and I was about to watch as she launched a terrible curse on herself.

"I know how you feel, Regina."

I couldn’t watch her doing that. I needed to do something.

"I doubt that much."

"When I lost my wife, I thought I had no more reason to move on. But I found one. My son."

"That's where you and I are different." She replied, her voice calm and composed. "I've already lost Henry. I've lost the only thing I care about."

Not! Don’t let her do it!

"But you can find another reason, Regina. We all have a second chance. You just need to open your eyes to see."

"Too bad my eyes will be closed."

I felt the most impotent of all men. I could not stop a beautiful woman from sleeping in death to escape her pain. I was a failure.

"So that's it?" I changed tactics. "Are you just going to quit?"

"This is not the end. It's an interval. This curse can be broken." She smiled, and I admired that pure smile. "For the true love of my life." The smile rose on her lips. "The only reason I would want to wake up." Her eyes were wet and I desperately wanted to hug her and let her rest her small body against my arms. "My son, Henry."

Do something. The woman will fall into a morbid sleep.

"Regina, this is a mistake. Listen to me."

"Do not worry, I'll keep my word. I will break the protection spell and Snow White and the Prince Charming will be victorious and bouncy leaders. "

Do something! Do it.

"And after that... then I'll go to sleep."

Regina walked away from me, and disappeared through one of the doors. Trapped to the ground by her magic, I didn’t know what to do and wouldn’t know what to say when they find me there. The beautiful Queen Regina would be lying in the deep sleep of the curse because the legendary Robin Hood had not been able to prevent it.

_She had turned me into a joke._


	4. Chapter 4

When Regina returned into the room, my heart slowed. She was not dead. Even worse than my fate would be, at least I was not a complete failure. She walked quickly.

"What happened? Did you give up that crazy idea?" I replied relieved as she reached out and undid her magic, allowing me to move.

She leaned back over the dressing table and began to collect her jars.

"You were right." Wow, what's the taste of those words in that majesty mouth? "The curse of sleep was not the answer. Like you said, I just needed a reason to live."

"And you found one?" I smiled at the statement. Worst of all, Regina deserved a chance to be happy. She had a pulsing heart beneath all that evil and tight clothes.

"The only thing I have not had in a long time."

My eyebrows formed a bow and possibly the confusion was very clear in my facial expressions, as she turned to me with a terrifying and engaging smile before concluding her reasoning.

"Someone to destroy."

There we were - back to square one. Regina was an enigma to me. Her heart was sweet, her mind was bitter. Her soul was kind, her instincts were evil. Her brain was cruel, her motives were noble. If you get too close, you fall on your knees for the Evil Queen. If you try to hate her, you'll feel your heart melting for Regina.

She looked up at me, and I realized that her intentions were not commendable. She waved her hand and I felt my feet pinned to the floor again. I forced them, knowing that I could not move.

"Regina."

She will kill me.

"I think that before I focus on this plan, I need to get rid of what's getting me deconcentrated."

She came walking to where I was elegantly, her hips making sumptuous curves in the air, a devilish smile on her lips. Her eyes glittered like flames of burning fire. I didn’t even bother to pick up the bow. If she wanted to, she would kill me before I could put the arrow in the bow. I was lost.

Regina stopped in front of me, smiling. I feared her next move. But she looked at me curiously, as if analyzing every inch of my face. Slowly, her eyes slid down my whole body. She was not in a hurry. She seemed to be happy to make me completely uncomfortable with that inspection.

"Regina, don’t leave my son orphan."

She licked her upper lip as she stared at my lips. It was almost as if she... Wake up, thief. She is the Evil Queen.

"I won’t kill you, thief."

"What do you want from me?"

"This." She replied dryly, before thrusting her hand into my chest and pulling my heart out in a rough motion.

In her hands, my heart glistened. It was pounding hard and she watched him closely.

"Pure heart, thief."

It was completely surreal to watch my heart outside my chest. I had heard many stories. But that was different. It is different when it is yours, when it is you who are experiencing your vital organ pulsing in the hands of someone with almost no sense of compassion.

To tell the truth, I was desperate.

Regina squeezed it and even though she did not use much force, I closed my eyes. It hurt.

"Regina!" I groaned, and I feared she would take it forward. God, I was really going to die.

She moved closer to me and held my heart in her left hand, lifting it to her lips. It was among us, though we were strangely close to each other. For a moment of madness, I thought she was going to tear off a piece of it with her teeth and though I thought it would mean my death, it sounded strangely sensual.

Stop flirting. She'll crush your heart, asshole.

"Kiss me. With more desire than your body can bear." She whispered against the pulsing heart in her hand.

In a sure move, I held her arm tightly. She squinted into mine, her mouth half-open - but she did not move. She seemed to be interested in what I would do next. With a hard movement, I forced her to put it on my chest again. Regina looked up at me mockingly.

"I'll tear it off again, do not kid yourself."

Her eyes fixed on my lips and the smile gradually faded from her lips. I didn’t stop staring at her. If that's the way you want to play, we'll play. I was too close, and I could feel her breath sliding over my face. I did not even have to move to whisper against her lips.

"You don’t have to tear my heart out if you want me to kiss you. I will do this on my own free will, Your Majesty."

I tucked my fingers into her hair. They were soft and silky, and tickled. My fingers gripped the back of her neck and I forced her against me, my mouth sliding into hers. Her lips were delicious, soft and I felt their fleshy texture rubbing ambitiously against my rough lips. Her tongue was warm in my mouth, sliding down mine - it was as hot as it was vicious. Her taste was excruciatingly vicious, and when she turned her head to the other side and gave me even more opening, I felt I was going to die there. My feet were still pinned to the floor, but I lowered my other hand down her body, and my fingers slipped through the libidinous seam of that dress.

Regina moaned against my mouth, and I felt my whole body shudder in response. I let my other hand slide to the nape of her neck so that I was holding the nape of her neck with both hands now, her mouth warm, moist and naughty against mine, those velvety lips embedded in mine in a manner as lascivious and unseemly as only a queen and a thief could do. It was the union of the noble and the poor, of royalty and the proletariat, of the educated and the grotesque, and I felt unable to stop kissing her. Regina was too delicious.

I felt as she undid the magic on my feet and I more than quickly pushed her against the wall, our lips still licking greedily. Regina moaned again and I tightened her waist as my mouth slid down her neck, where I let my tongue slide, licked her, lips sucking every drop of sweat, my mouth moistening every bit of flesh there as I felt her fingers in my hair, pulling me against her. I could not say how that was happening, but I did not want it to stop. Never.

I pressed both hands against her waist and my mouth slid over the generous cleavage she wore. My rough mouth brushed against the satiny skin and I felt the shiver running through her skin. I slid my tongue down the valley between her breasts and sucked her skin with wet mouth.

"No!" She mumbled, and she spread both hands against my chest, pulling me away. Her eyes were cold again. "That was enough, thief."

"Regina..." I whispered. Damn, I was totally hard. And she was simply dismissing me. The Evil Queen had returned.

"I already got what I asked for." She replied, not looking at me. I just sat there watching her pick up her jars and walk past me as if nothing had just happened. "We need to meet Snow White."

I stood still, perhaps outraged. Outraged with her for using me, or with me for having created too many expectations? It was difficult to know. Regina stopped near the door, and her countenance was totally closed again. The perfect mask of evil. She kept her elegant posture and just leaned her body in my direction.

"Don’t you dare tell anybody what happened here, thief."

"I have honor, Your Majesty."

"You'd better, or I'll rip your heart out again and make a couple of earrings with it."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at her back as I followed her out of the room. I was already getting used to it.


	5. Chapter 5

I was sitting on the little wall that circulated the fountain, when Snow White approached me. She had a sweet, pure look that did not look like Regina's. Not that Regina was not a good person. She was. But her eyes were like the eyes of a locked-up beast. They were intense and sumptuous.

"What happened here before we came in?"

"Anything." I lie shamelessly because the truth had the face of the lie. Me and the Evil Queen kissed? Who would buy such stupidity?

"I don’t know you very well, Mr. Hood, but I know Regina, something has happened to make her so restless."

"Nothing to do with me. I did not even see the witch. Regina kept me stuck here in the bedroom."

White nodded, nodding in silence. She sat down beside me, and together we remained silent. I liked her. It was refreshing to be close to such royalty. Snow White had a way of demonstrating nobility, not through luxurious robes or gold jewelry, but through her soul, as enriched as it was.

"She's suffering a lot because of her son."

"Henry."

Her eyes stared at me in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"She told me."

"Did Regina tell you about her son?" The incredulity in her voice was palpable, and I wondered if I hadn’t said too much. Probably Regina was not a very open person and had made an exception in my case. My question was: why me?

"Maybe she needed to talk and I'd be around."

"Or maybe she likes you." Answered the brunette, again looking me up and down, in close scrutiny.

"White, Hood, they're calling you to a meeting in the great hall. The Queen is waiting for you."

I smiled at her, and we both got up to follow the young messenger castle inside.

***  


"Rode the Castle of Rumpel? Is that the idea? My name is Angry, not Dumb."

"Belle, you were a prisoner there and you escaped."

Her voice made me angry.

 "I ran away, yes, but I have no idea about how to get in.”

"I already invaded his castle once. I know how to do it." My speech impressed the group, so they all focused on me.

"Who is fool enough to invade Rumpelstiltskin’s castle?"

"A man in distress." I confessed.

"Why are we listening to this man? He's a thief. Of course we should not trust him.”

Regina was challenging me in a way that I only saw two exits: either kissed her in front of everyone or returned in the same coin.

"What I'm doing here is saving your ass."

White looked at me in surprise and Regina stared furiously into mine. She hated me. She wanted to rip my heart out and make a necklace with it. Of course I ignored the danger and continued. "The castle is full of deadly traps but it is not impenetrable."

"They can’t be more mortal than my magic." She hissed, not pleased to be ignored.

"It is if you don’t know where it comes from."

"Maybe I'd rather take the risk."

"You do, but we don’t." White interrupted her. "He's coming with us."

A smile of victory crossed my lips, imposing. I stared back at her, and I could have sworn that for a second I was even afraid of the way Regina was looking at me. It seemed an uneven mix of disgust, anger, and deadly hatred.

I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But you're stuck with me now.  


***  


The visit to the castle was not really a big deal. Rumpelstiltskin's fret was over some spell or mental confusion. Nothing he said seemed to make sense. Locked in a cage and working nonstop on that gold-spinning rock, I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But he was the Dark One and that had not changed.

On the way back, we were quietly thinking about what had happened. The pieces led to the Good Witch of the South, whoever that was. Many things they said I didn’t understand. I looked for her and noticed her right behind the crowd. I let people walk past me, and within minutes I was walking beside her.

Regina stared at me for a few seconds, the incorruptible mask of imperial nobility again in her face.

"What do you want, thief?"

"Did I say I wanted anything, Your Majesty?"

"Where's Roland?"

"Safe, in the castle."

"I thought you didn’t trust my magic."

She looked forward, so when I looked at her, I could admire her beautiful face. "I trust in your magic, but in you..."

"Are you saying I'm not trustworthy?" She asked, laughing. Her lips curved evenly as she smiled in a contagious, expressive smile. She was too beautiful and I was overtaking in admiration.

"You must forgive me, my lady, but your fame precedes you."

"I got you. Thief."

I smiled to myself, trying to absorb the teasing. She was tempting. "Thank you, Evil Queen." She exchanged a quick glance with me and turned her attention to the front. "How do you feel knowing you're in a war against your own sister? Is not strange?"

"It's not exactly weird, I didn’t knew her, and I don’t know her yet, also the fact that she wants me dead does not bring us closer as relatives."

"Snow told me you're suffering because of Henry."

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened for a few seconds. Then she cleared her throat and smiled politely. "Snow White talks too much, she's always talked, but that's none of your business, thief.”

"I don’t know what is your problem, Regina." It seemed that I had caught her attention. "There's nothing wrong about feeling the lack of a child, whether you're a queen or a thief, or a princess, or a peasant. It only makes you human."

Maybe I had been too hard. Afraid to have crossed some boundary and perhaps to preserve myself alive, I moved away from her and returned to the front of the crowd. She followed my movements with her eyes and for some time, even with my back to her, I could feel her eyes on me.

***  


It was early in the morning and I was coming back from the morning round around the castle. The dangers from the Wicked Witch of the West were real and scary, any care was definitely little. I was passing the hall on my way to the tents when I heard my son's laughter.

 

Roland is a huge reason to live. My boy is so lively, so funny, and so small. His actions of chivalry and care for others, even at such a young age, fill me with pride. If Marian were alive, she would be very proud of him too.

I pulled the curtain from the tent, but I didn’t see the scene I was expecting. My son was lying on her lap, and she tickled him, smiling at him in an equally genuine way. They were happy together. I didn’t even remember the last time I saw him laughing like that. Roland seemed really close to her, at ease with her presence and Regina had so much affection in her eyes when she looked at him that I would not dare call her the Evil Queen again.

"Papa!" Roland denounced me, rolling down her lap and running toward me. She looked up and smiled.

"I didn’t want to disturb you."

"You didn’t." She answered. I thought that she would get up and leave immediately, but she stayed there, and for some reason I did not want her to leave. Regina was hooking me with her presence.

"Looks like Roland liked you."

Roland smiled and sat down on the floor, entertaining himself with a sheet and colored chalk.

"He's a very special boy. Congratulations." I could feel the delicacy and affection in each syllable. I wanted to kiss those lips again.

"Are you thinking about Henry?"

"I'm always thinking about Henry."

I wanted to hold her but that would be to abuse my luck. It was already lucky for me to be there, beside her, in my tent. Regina was a complex woman but the more I knew her, the more interested I became. I wanted to spend more time with her. I was making a mistake, and I knew it. But giving her up seemed abominable.

"Do not worry, I know how to keep a secret. Better than Snow White."

She laughed and I tried to memorize that wonderful sound. She could spend all day laughing, I would love it. However, she got up and I, on impulse, got up too.

"Thank you for the offer." She took another step closer, and slid her hand over my face. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the warm sensation. Still with my eyes closed, I felt her breath close to my ear. "But I feel I don’t need to keep secrets with you."

I felt her warm lips on my cheek, planting a sweet and tender kiss. The scent of her invaded my nose and left me electric. When I opened my eyes again, she was kissing the top of my son's head, stroking his smooth hair.

The next minute, she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

We were offered a tour to the Black Forest, where Glinda was supposed to be, a good witch who would help us beat Zelena. I wasn’t completely convinced, so I left Roland at the castle. Regina had explained to me that the castle was protected by a powerful spell and that not even Zelena could overtake it, and that made me less worried.

Regina was ahead of us, next to David and Snow. She was as beautiful as usual, but her hair was loose and that was news to me. She could look even more beautiful.

My curiosity about the people I was with was tremendous. As far as I could remember, Regina wanted Snow White's death. Everyone in the kingdom knew this. And now, you see, Snow White seemed to be the Queen's best friend or only friend. It was maddening. I longed to know the past of the woman who now occupied not only my daily life, but also the daily life of my dreams.

We stopped at the edge of a river to rest. I reviewed my equipment and decided to take a tour to get to know the territory. I was walking through the trees when I heard familiar voices. I wanted to keep walking and ignore the voices. But it was this effect she had on me. Regina was a magnet and as much as I wanted to get away, I was sucked close. Closer and closer.

"What did you think of our new mate?"

"Robin?"

"No, King Leopold, of course it's Robin."

I quickly identified the voice of Regina and Snow. I stood behind a tree under the shade of the trunk.

"He's handsome, is not he?"

Snow White thinks I'm cute. I don’t know if I'm happy or shy.

"He smells like forest."

"But you like him."

"Take care of your life, Snow White." I wanted to laugh. "He's just a man. Not my prince charming."

"Just a man whose tent you visited this morning."

"Are you following me, you insolent?"

"What's going on between you two, Regina? And don’t even tell me it's nothing, because you told him about Henry and you never tell anyone about it."

There was a terrifying silence after that. I tried not to lean over and look at her facial expression.

"Snow..." Her whisper tingled my spine.

"Oh my God, I knew you'd like Robin, I knew you'd make such a beautiful pair!"

"Wake up, Snow White. Do you think I'm some princess meant to meet her soulmate after some dramatic event and then have dozens of kids? I'm the Queen. He's Robin Hood, the prince of thieves. This can’t and shouldn’t happen, we belong to different worlds."

"Regina, this is bullshit..."

“Let’s go. Someone has to take care of this baby.”

I turned away without making a sound. Regina had rejected me. Deep down, I understood what she felt. It was the same as me, most of the time. But hearing those words coming out of her mouth was worse. It hurt infinitely more. I knew I was going to get hurt, of course I did. But I didn’t imagine it would be so fast.  


***  
  


It was late, and Roland was with Regina. I didn’t want to see her, not after hearing that conversation. My plan was to distance myself until I felt nothing else. However, she was the only woman with whom Roland felt comfortable and I didn’t want to take that opportunity from him.

I went up to the hall and I saw her, sitting around the fountain with my son by her side, and he was saying something very excited, his hands open in the air. I approached them with a serious countenance.

"Time to go to the tent, Roland."

"Ah, Papa, a little more?"

"The Queen needs rest, my son.”

Regina stared at me, confused. "Robin, if you like I can take him to your tent later."

"I don’t want to bother you, Queen."

She bit her lower lip and I remembered she had no idea I had overheard her conversation. For her, I was acting completely different from one moment to the next. Like an idiot. A complete idiot. Well, that's what I was anyway, huh? An idiot who was not good enough for her. Roland came to me hesitantly. I caught him in my lap and she walked over to us, kissing his forehead carefully. She stared at me with those bright brown eyes.

"Good night, Robin."

"Good night, Your Majesty." I answered dryly and turned away from her.

Do I feel guilty? Yes. Getting away from her had become my personal burden. I could feel her eyes on me all the time, but I'm too proud to look back. So I look away, turn my attention to my instruments, talk to other people. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her away from me.

"Beautiful arrows, are its tips dipped in gold?"

I looked up and saw David. The prince had a noble and presentable appearance. The good-looking face of royalty. I had heard many stories about his bravery, and to be honest, being the father of Snow White's son made us like him immediately.

"Yes, it is arrows bathed in gold."

"May I ask where you got it?"

"It was a gift from the Queen."

David smiled as he looked at the arrows. "She must really like you."

"Or she wanted to keep me away from the rest of the gold in her castle."

Something was starting to intrigue me. Was Regina making such exceptions about me?

"If she thought you were a danger, you'd already be dead. Regina is pretty straight forward at this point."

I raised my eyes and stared at the man beside me. Why not? She had already let me go…

"What's her story, if I may ask? Was she always the fearsome Queen? How did you all become 'friends'?"

David sat on a tree trunk, and I sat on the floor. He drew his sword out and began to sharpen it as he spoke.

"Regina was a princess, the daughter of a very powerful and cruel witch named Cora. Cora killed Snow White's mother so that Regina would marry her father and become a Queen. But Regina had a boyfriend, and wanted to run away with him. Cora killed the boy in front of his daughter and forced her to marry King Leopold. When Leopold died, Regina took the throne and finally became Queen. But the rejection of the people and the predilection of the masses by Snow White transformed her in the Evil Queen that we all know. I won’t defend her, but I have to admit that Regina suffered enough. She didn’t become evil out of nothing.

It was a very sad story. I swallowed hard, and he shook his head before putting the sword back into the holster.

"Whatever your interest in her, I ask you to reconsider. She doesn’t deserve to get her heart broken again and we don’t need her with blood in her eyes."

Someone called for David, who nodded before walking away from me. Maybe it was better that way. Regina deserved a decent man, someone at her level, a man I could never be.

 

***  
  
  
  
Regina was sitting on a wooden bench, thinking about the last meeting with Robin. She didn’t understand what had happened to him. They seemed to be so connected in one moment, but them they’re repelling each other.

She stared at the stars with a sad expression. What did it matter? She wasn’t going to be happy anyway. It was not her destiny. She had wasted her chance when she doubted that stupid fairy and her true love theory. A stranger in a tavern was her soulmate? Who believes in these things?

She had been lucky enough by not getting pregnant with Leopold. Her life would be ruined, as would the life of that poor child. Her mind carried her to Henry. Her son. A boy with the most beautiful heart she had ever seen, the only one who had ever trusted her. Her true love. The only one who would miss her if she was gone. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t because Regina had given to Emma Swan and her dear son new lives, new stories, new memories, and a bright future. They would be happy. It had been by far the most difficult decision and the most painful sacrifice Regina had ever made. But she was proud of herself. She had destroyed herself to ensure the happiness of the love of her life, and didn’t regret it at all.

Henry would be happy. That was all that mattered.

Robin had given up on her? Or had she given up on herself? If Henry were there, he would disagree with her attitude. _'Are you going to let another special person go away because of your pride, mom?'_ She could imagine his voice asking her that and smiled. Her eyes filled with tears. Damn, how she missed him...


	7. Chapter 7

When I reached the patio, Roland released my hand and ran toward her, just as I would like to. Regina leaned over and hugged him, smiling. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I wanted to be mad at her. I wanted to be angry. But there I was, smiling like an idiot. With each kiss she gave him on his cheeks, with each and every laugh of his, my heart was breaking down its walls so that I was totally vulnerable to Regina again.

Shit.

Regina looked up, staring at me. She got Roland up her lap, and walked over to where I was. Her face was impassive and she looked austere.

"Robin." She smiled big and wide, her eyes shining. It was impossible to resist. Stop it, Regina. Stop now. "Can we talk later?"

"Has something happened, Queen?"

"I think we both know what happened, Robin." She seemed to be able to see through my eyes, right into my soul. She seemed to undress me, seeing my fears, insecurities and secrets. "I'll get to you later."

While I was unable to answer, she walked away with Roland in her lap. He smiled all the time and it translated into a feeling of total tranquility and peace pounding in my chest. I was only afraid about what would he feel when she leave us.

From a distance I could tell when Regina was looking at me. Her eyes seemed darker than usual. I was not sure what she wanted to talk about. Was it about the kiss? Or the way I'd treated her? Or was she going to dismiss me at once?

Any answer would be better than this purgatory status. My stomach began to growl and I predicted that would be a long, long day.

 

***

 

I was walking through the woods when Regina appeared in front of me, wrapped in a purple mist.

"Couldn’t you have come walking??" I grumbled.

"It would be taken two days."

"It seems suitable for me." I had promised myself to be polite. What was I doing?

She took a deep breath and took me by the hand, interlacing her fingers to mine. The softness of her skin against the harshness of mine was alarming but so soft and so sweet that it made me want to stay there forever. I looked at her, confused, and Regina returned her gaze, an enigmatic expression on her face. She pulled me by the hand and then guided me into the forest. We were alone, still good. People would not understand Robin Hood and the Queen walking hand in hand.

We stopped in a glade where trees formed a sort of aerated cavern. From the edge we could see the whole lake that surrounded the kingdom. Regina had not let go of my hand and I prayed she would never do it. I was in love with her, and now I was absolutely sure of it.

Unfortunately, she unhooked her fingers from mine, and stood in front of me, watching me. Her eyes scanned my features, traveling through my hair, my eyes, and my lips. She sighed looking at my lips and I knew what she was thinking. Exactly the same I was. Seconds later, she looked back into my eyes.

"What is it, Robin?"

"Excuse me, milady?"

"What happened? What did I do to you? I mean, I was wrong to rip your heart out. I'm sorry, truly am. But it felt like we were fine and suddenly you're treating me like the old Evil Queen."

Regina was apologizing for ripping my heart out. I wasn’t ready to that. I wasn’t prepared for that look of doubt and concern on her face. I supposed I wanted to get away, but at that moment, I was looking for reasons to don’t stick my fingers in that black hair and pull her into a voracious kiss.

"Aren’t you going to say anything?" Her irritation was present in every syllable.

"I just... I was kind of worried about this Zelena situation." She was completely dissatisfied with that response and I knew it. "It's not your fault, Regina."

She took a deep breath and walked away from me. With her back to me and facing the lake, I saw her breathing deeply. "It's my fault, we're all in danger because Zelena wants me, maybe I'd better surrender myself, it would guarantee you all a chance to be in peace.”

"That's bullshit."

She turned to me with a melancholy smile on her face, but her eyes were wet. "You know it's not."

"We've already talked about this, Regina, and even if you surrender, do you think she'll leave us alone? Zelena will have no mercy on anyone.”

"And what do you suggest?"

"I'll find her."

Regina laughed bitterly, and walked to stand in front of me again. "You're crazy, Robin, what are you going to beat her with? You think you're going to shoot her down with arrows? Before you can get her, you'll be dead. This idea is ridiculous.”

"I will try."

 "Robin, I won’t allow it."

Her expression was very serious. Her determination could be felt by her tone.

"You can’t stop me, Regina."

"I can and you know it." She smiled devilishly. "You're not going to let your son fatherless. Roland only has you. You'll stay with him and let me take care of it."

"I don’t want you to die."

She stared into my eyes with her half-open mouth. "You won’t miss me. Believe me, the only person who would miss me even knows who I am."

"I would not bet on that."

Regina moved closer to me. We were within inches of the inevitable. Her sweet-smelling scent of apples was mesmerizing. I felt her hands on the lapels of my vest, and the next second, she pulled me to her, clinging to our bodies. I couldn’t breathe. The memory of those lips was tempting and out of my control. Regina leaned over and brushed her lips against mine, a burning sensation of longing and desire. I wanted her, so very much.

But a siren sounded inside my head. I knew something was wrong. We were acting without thinking. I had already hurt myself. I was going to do it again. Why the hell a man would insist on doing something that hurts him?

"Kiss me, Robin." Her voice trailed into my ears like a melted whisper, creating a chill in the back of my neck. With a tearing pain in my chest, I placed my hands on hers, and I removed them from my clothes. She opened her eyes, confused, and when she noticed I was pulling away, she bit her bottom lip hard. I hoped she would not cry. I could not stand it. Her eyes were tingling to the point of exploding, so I turned and started to walk.

"Why?"

I stopped at the exact moment. Her voice transmitted a horrible hurt. I feared for my heart. I had hurt her, just as David had asked me not to. She had her back to me, still panting. Regina hates me. Now forever.

"I just want to know why, Robin."

I swallowed hard and walked over to her, who did not turn around. Regina was way too beautiful, I could never contain myself around her. I brushed the hair from her neck and she sighed, sad. I slid my finger through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. I leaned forward and touched her ear with my lips, watching her skin shiver in a deliciously smooth way.

"You know why, Regina. You're a Queen. I'm Robin Hood, the prince of thieves. We have nothing in common. This can’t and should not happen. We belong to different worlds."

I heard her hold her breath. I turned away, hating myself for having to stop touching her. But I knew that either I would walk away now, or I would cry too, and my code would not allow me that kind of weakness.

Life sucks. This code sucks. And here I am, again, walking in the woods and leaving the woman I love behind.

  
  
***

 

"So… You and Regina?"

I smiled awkwardly at the redhead in front of me. Belle was a good friend of the past, who had reached out to me at a moment when I was in society's ditch.

"There's nothing between us, Belle."

"Robin, everyone talks about the way you look at each other."

"Everyone is wrong, we have nothing."

She stared at me and smiled, and I knew I'd just confirmed the opposite. Belle possessed wisdom to spare.

"You may haven’t done anything, but don’t try to convince me you don’t feel anything for each other."

"You're asking me something, Bells? Yes, I like her. But see where we are. Who we are. It doesn’t match. I'm going to continue my mission to help the poor."

"You're such an idiot, Robin."

She was laughing at me. Laughing hard. People were staring at us. And I laughed too, after all - she was my friend and she was right. I was an idiot.

"You're scared of what you're feeling, and that's why you insist on this lame and ridiculous excuse."

"I'm just saying what Regina herself said."

She smiled at my annoyance.

"She's a woman, Robin. It's okay to her to be unsure about how she feel. But you're a bearded man with a childish, almost pathetic fear. What do I and Rumple have in common? What do Snow White and David have in common? What did Emma and Graham have in common? Aren’t we all different?"

She was right and I hated myself for it.

"The truth, Robin, is that if you love someone they may even be from another universe and will remain the ideal person for you. When you love someone, you go over obstacles, get over setbacks, learn to deal with the pros and cons of the person, and stay with them no matter what. If you think you love Regina, why are you letting her go?”

"Because I’m not good enough for her.”

"She said that?"

"She said it should not happen because we are from different worlds."

"But aren’t you in the same world now?"

It seemed that the dense, obscure cloud that had been resting on my mind had dissipated. Belle was right. How had I not noticed that before? I was not fighting for her. I had given up on the first sign of difficulty. I hadn’t behaved like a man worthy of her. I had rejected her. Broken her heart. I had fallen in love and done everything I shouldn’t have done. Damn, I got it all wrong.

"Go after her, my friend."

I stood up smiling, and kissed the top of my friend's head. She smiled.

"Thank you, Belle. You're awesome.”  
  



	8. Chapter 8

I climbed the castle stairs running. I was panting and began to feel accusatory stabs of sudden pain inside my chest. When I reached the corridor leading to her room, I saw the Prince and Snow White in front of the bedroom door. As soon as he noticed me, David's face changed and he came toward me furiously.

"What did I ask you, Robin? What the hell did you do?"

I wasn’t going to take outrage for free because he was a prince of something. But Snow stood between us, both hands on her husband's chest.

"Easy, David." She came back to look at me and I could see she didn’t feel so different from him. "What did you do?"

“What do you mean, what did I do? Where’s Regina? I want to talk to her."

"To make the situation even worse? Save the effort." David hissed at me.

"She came back furious and destroyed everything in the room. We were lucky no one had crossed her way. So, what did you do?"

I thought about the things I had said. I was guilty as hell.

"Maybe I said a few things."

"Of course you did it." David stared at me with fury in his eyes. He snorted then passed me, purposely bumping into my shoulder. "Asshole."

I kept my eyes on Snow, who smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry for him. David is worried that Regina will do something that will harm the baby.”

The baby. I looked at her belly. There it was, a small sharp curve, not luxuriant but also not imperceptible. I understood David's fury. I would hate it too if someone put the woman I love, pregnant, at risk for some stupid reason. Belle was completely right, I was a tremendous idiot.

"I made a mistake, but I came here to apologize to her. And I apologize to you, Snow. And to David. I’m sorry to have exposed all of you to unnecessary danger."

She smiled at me, and I felt a little better.

"She likes you, Robin. Don’t waste it. "

"I won’t. Can I talk to her now?"

"She's on the terrace. End of the corridor."

I waved to her and walked to the end of the hallway. I was not sure about what I was going to say. I didn’t know how to start, but I had made a bad choice and needed to correct that. Regina deserved the best of me. I went through the arched doorways and watched the terrace, silent.

"Regina?"

“Robin." Her whisper was so painful that it left me on alert. I placed the arrow in the bow and sought for her. My arm tensed as soon as I saw her, inert to the power of Zelena, who kept her hands around Regina’s neck.

"Take your hands off her." I bent, aiming the arrow exactly between the green eyes. Regina looked at me with supplication in her eyes and at that moment, I felt bad. Extremely bad.

"Who are you to give me orders?" Zelena laughed and looked at the half-sister with spite. "Who is this idiot?"

"Release it or I'll stick that arrow in your skull."

Zelena looked at Regina, who refused to answer anything. She kept staring at me. "Go away, Robin."

"And warn everyone? You stay."

I let the arrow go, but Zelena created a field around her - which broke the object in two. "Idiot." She mumbled, and I felt my feet pinned to the floor again. I hate magic.

"Don’t kill her, it won’t serve your purpose at all." I had to bargain.

"What do you know about my plans?"

"Regina is more valuable alive than dead.”

"I partially agree." Zelena threw her on the floor and Regina took a deep, weak breath. The Wicked Witch of the West was definitely stronger. Regina swallowed and coughed hard. Zelena circled around her. "Soon, her life won’t make any difference to me."

"What do you mean by that? What do you think you're going to do? You're not going to hurt her." I shouted, trying to get off the floor. Zelena would kill her if I didn’t move. But how? “It’s here!!! Help!!! Witch on the castle! Wit…”

I was still screaming when a green magic ball was hurled at me.

I felt a racking pain in my head.

After that, it was all black.  


***

  
  
I opened my eyes.

The clarity was strong and invasive. Some sounds were present in the surroundings but I had difficulty identifying them. I couldn’t see anything with precision. I closed my eyes again. My throat was so dry...

 Regina. What had happened to her? Zelena. Regina.

"I saw him opening his eyes."

"Maybe it was reflex, Snow. You better not have too much hope."

Was it David's voice?

"He's not dying."

"He was a week off. He could have died."

One week? Was I fainted for a week? A fucking week? Where was Regina? I need to talk to her. I need to wake up, I need to get out of this bed.

"Regina." I grunted, my voice hoarse from the roughness of my dehydrated throat.

"He woke up, David! Go find her."

I opened my eyes again and forced myself to focus. Long minutes later, I could see the beautiful face of Snow White staring at me. She smiled and I swore there were tears trying to fall from the corner of her eyes, but she did not let them. I swallowed a little and tried to sit on the bed, but I still did not have the strength.

"Hello." She smiled, putting her hand over mine. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak."

"You've spent a week unconscious."

I cleared my throat. "What happened? Is Regina okay? Zelena..."

"Stay calm. Nothing happened. You hit your head on the wall, but we made it in time to take Zelena away from Regina. She is fine."

I stared up at the ceiling, discontented with everything. "Where's Roland?"

"He stayed with Regina all this time."

I smiled, and Snow followed me. "She really likes you."

"She doesn’t.” I teased.

"When you were attacked, she spent the whole night here, watching over you." Snow looked over her shoulder at the crack of the door, perhaps fearing that Regina would step in without warning and catch her telling him everything again. “She was sentinel in this chair by your bed every day, several hours a day. She just left to take care of Roland."

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to tear my skin out. Something was screaming inside me. Regina had done all this for me. "Why would she do something like that?"

"Like I said, she really likes you."

I swallowed hard, and closed my eyes again. I needed to talk to her. Urgently. I felt Snow's lips on my temple. "Rest, Robin. David already went to find her. She'll be here soon."

  
  
***

  
I could not tell how much time I slept since Snow White had left my room. My body seemed to be too exhausted and weakened. I choked and coughed, getting up a little and sitting on the bed, my back against the head of the bed. My gaze wandered the room until I found her.

Sitting in front of me, dressed in a long turquoise dress, was her. Her smile opened unexpectedly, and I smiled back, delighted. "Look who finally woke up." She teased and I felt the affection in her words.

"I seem to be about some sleep curse or something. This is not normal."

"Nothing is normal, Robin."

"Not really." I backed up, reminding myself of the last conversation I had.

"Is there something you want to say, Hood?"

"No." I smiled. "Where is my son?"

"Sleeping in my room. It's past midnight. "

"What are you doing here in my room, in the middle of the night, Queen?"

She stared at me with a smirk on her face. I adored her like that. Good humored. Sarcastic. Debauched.

"I was just passing through."

"I hear you've spent hours just 'passing' on the edge of my bed."

I swear I saw a faint pink smoky coloring her cheeks.

"Let me guess who said it: start with S and end with Snow?"

I laughed. My head was throbbing a bit, but it was bearable. Everything was bearable with her around.

"Perhaps."

"There is not much room for variables. How are you feeling, Robin?"

"Good. But it could be better."

I noticed a change in her countenance. "Do you need something? I can arrange it."

"Yes, I need one thing."

She leaned toward me and stared at me, concentrated. I kept talking.

"I need you to forgive me."

"Robin..."

"No, no, let me finish. I had gone after you on the terrace for that. To apologize. Because the biggest mistake of my life was denying you a kiss, Regina. Instead of proving you were wrong about us, I took all shit and walked away like a coward. I don’t agree with you. I don’t accept that a difference of worlds, of creation, of wealth, of dress, or of any other social convention distances me from you; I don’t care that we have nothing in common... " I reached out and hit the bed, signaling that she would sit next to me. "I don’t know how it happened, like, or why, but all I know, Regina, is that there is no one in the world who does me as well as you. Except for Roland."

"Robin..."

"Come, sit here."

Regina got up uncertainly and sat down very close to me. Her eyes were now lined up with mine, and I stroked her hair, sliding my finger over them as I tucked them behind her ear.

"I don’t want to hurt anyone, Robin."

I slid my thumb over that delicate face. "Getting away from you will hurt me more than anything else, Regina."

"And I don’t want to get hurt."

I slid my hand to the back of her neck, and forced her to look into my eyes. "I'd rather give my life to see you hurt."

Regina smiled and a tear ran down the corner of her left eye. I pressed my fingers against the back of her neck, and pulled her. Our mouths met. I can’t say what was in that mouth. I don’t know if it was the softness, if it was the position of the flesh on the velvety skin. All I can say is that kissing Regina was like a divine gift, soft, velvety, and seductive. Her tongue was hungry in my mouth, sucking me, sucking me like I was an oasis in a wilderness of dry emotions. Her taste made me shiver, her breath deconstructed me, and I didn’t even know what to focus on, so I let my tongue explore every inch of that kiss, every texture and precision. Our lips were massaging each other with a hint of sobbing. When the air became completely scarce, we were gradually separating, the fiery kiss dividing between shallow kisses until finally it became little kisses.

"You're perfect, Regina." I whispered against her mouth, kissing her lightly. She smiled and tried to get up, but I put my hand on her waist and kissed her ear. "Where are you going?"

"To my room. You need to rest."

"Stay with me."

"What part of 'rest' do you not understand?"

"I swear, we won’t do anything. Just stay with me, please."

Regina looked at me suspiciously, her eyebrow arched. But her smile indicated my victory. Gently she withdrew her heels and lay on the bed in front of me and her back to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me, hugging her and stuffing my nose into her neck. She was a goddess. I felt her hands on my arms, hugging me and then she nested against my body. I curled into her and kissed the top of her head.

"Good night, Robin." She had her back to me but I could feel the insolent smile on her lips.

"Good night my Queen."

I kissed her neck and felt her shiver.

I had Regina in my arms.

I had the Queen in my bed, nestled in my embrace.

What more could I want?


	9. Chapter 9

Sitting on the low wall of the fountain, I thought of so many things that my head threatened to ache.

It would be hard to say that I didn’t fall in love with Regina every day. I fell in love with the first look we exchanged in the morning, I fell in love when she smiled at me, I fell in love when she held Roland in her arms, and I definitely fell madly in love as I wrapped my arms around her small waist and felt her soft lips against mine.

We turned the subject of the castle’s gossip for over a month, of course. Little laughs, complicit looks, whispers. Regina didn’t seem to care. She looked happy. She wrapped her fingers in mine and we paced the length and breadth of her kingdom, trying to block Zelena's entrance in every way. We knew of the imminent danger. Regina was among us and that meant that at some point, her sister would come back. She would not give up destroying it.

Today is my birthday and I feel no desire to celebrate. Yes, I have reason to be happy. Regina came into my life. Roland is charmed by her, and prefers to spend more time with her to spend it with his own father. I never cared. After years he had a female figure again in his life. But someone was planning day and night how to kill the woman who turned the cause of my smiles; the woman who seized me as if I were another accessory in her extensive dress. Losing Regina was one of my biggest nightmares.

"What are you thinking about?"

I smiled at that adorable face. She was getting expert at surprising me without me seeing her coming. "On how lucky I am."

"I agree. Maybe you have too much luck."

She walked up to me smiling. Her long hair was loose, and she was gorgeous. I wonder how no man has ever approached her before. I stroked her hair and kissed her mouth gently holding it.

"It's your birthday today, Robin."

"I'm not in the mood to party. We are on the verge of an attack."

Regina slid her hands over my shoulders, fingers tracing a delicate path across my chest. In her mouth, a mischievous smile was born. Her caress continued to reach the edge of my belt. I looked at her with one eyebrow arched. Regina looked around, making sure no one was watching us. With a quick movement, he pulled me by the belt to a quiet corner. She leaned against the wall and tugged at my belt. I was getting too excited about those touches. Her smile was irresistible, her eyes shining with malice. She reached into the back pocket of my pants and pulled me to her, and I had no choice but to press her against the wall. To crush her against the wall. Her body welcomed mine with an uncommon facility, and our mouths were ferociously eaten, tongues groaned, rushing forward in one another; I tucked my fingers into the back of her neck and pulled her against our kiss, I was incredibly aroused and she was going to feel it in a few seconds. The excitement instantly stiffened my cock, and I lowered my hands to her ass as I kissed her neck, sucking the sweet yet salty taste of her skin that burned beneath my tongue.

"God... Robin..." She moaned as I hooked one of my legs between her legs and held her by the waist, my mouth hungry for that body, my tongue now smearing her collarbone. Her skin was soft and silky, so the surface slid to the touch and made everything even more sensitive and desirable than it could be. My thumbs skimmed the contour of her cleavage and I began to kiss her lap, sucking lightly the uncovered part of her breasts. I felt her hands in my hair, rubbing me against her cleavage - she needed it as much as I did.

"Regina, this is..." I groaned, my tongue slipping into the valley between her breasts, feeling her squirm against the damp touch.

"A delight..." She finished weakly. "Keep going…”

"Queen Regina?"

A male voice made me jump immediately away from her. Regina opened her eyes, which contained a dense dark color, unlike any known tonality. She packed her clothes and signaled me to stay there.

"Yes?" She replied as she walked to the soldier. I stood there, still and miserable, with an absurd erection in my pants.

"Snow White and the Prince require the presence of Your Majesty in the hall."

Shit.

_Couple of cock-blockers._

I smiled at my thought, and I remained in silence. I would have to handle it by myself. I heard her talking to the officer.

"Wait, just a minute."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She walked over to where I was, and pushed me against the wall. Her mouth was formidable, as was her kiss. Her tongue twitched in my mouth. "How about a picnic tonight?"

"Are you sure?"

"That..." She pointed at the visible erection with a wicked grin on her face. "It needs to be dealt with properly, Robin."

"Picnic. Tonight. "I nodded, surrendered.

She smiled in an overwhelming way. "Good boy."

Moments later, she walked away with the soldier and left me there.

***  
  


"Papa?"

I left the bathroom smiling in relief. Roland had opened the door without even knocking, and I wondered what he would say if he had done so a few minutes ago. It would be embarrassing, to say the least.

"Yes little boy."

"I think something is happening inside the Great Hall. I saw David come in with the sword. "

Only one thought occurred to me. Zelena.

"And where was Regina, son?"

"In the Great Hall, she was the first to enter."

I opened my closet and took out my bow, placing it over my shoulder, and quickly reached for my bag with the arrows. I turned to my son.

"Stay here and don’t open the door for anyone."

"Yes. Go faster, papa! Regina needs help!"

I locked the door behind me and ran through the castle's long, misleading corridors. There was no soul in sight. What was happening? My heart was racing. My mouth was dry. I could feel my legs beginning to jerk with the unexpected effort. I ran with more intensity, and I saw the door of the Great Hall. With an atypical desperation, I hit the foot on the latch and opened the door with a violent bump.

  
  
***

  
  
"Surprise!" Cried the choir.

In front of me were all the inhabitants of the castle. Smiling. In the middle of them I saw Regina and Roland.

Roland.

Roland had tricked me, at the age of five.

"Happy birthday, love." Her voice trailed across the hall and everyone smiled. One song filled my ears and I began to greet guest by guest. I don’t know if this is what people do. To tell you the truth, I've never had a birthday party. For a long time, the reason is that no one would go to a party if I offered one. People hated me. In the other half of the time, it was because I never had money.

Have a party made for you, with so many people... I couldn’t explain the feeling. For the first time in years, I felt that I had become a good man. A worthy man. A man by whom people got dressed and made a surprise. I won’t cry, but I confess that there is a large part of me ready to give in and do it.

"Robin."

I turned around smiling and felt small arms around my neck. I hugged Snow White, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and a lovely smile on her face. "Thank you."

"Are you thanking me? No, I thank you. This party, my, I’d never..."

"Never had one. We know."

"You know?" I frowned and she slid her thumb across my face.

"I love you, Robin. I love you for being a good-hearted man. I love it because you saw what Regina had in her heart. For the good you did to her. For being patient and humble and caring. I'll never be able to thank you properly. I broke her heart once and now you healed it..." I was speechless. "Thank you for making her so happy. Regina looks like someone else. The Regina of the past would never do such a party for anyone. She would never take so much time and energy to give something to someone just because they never had it. She loves you unconditionally, Robin. I thought she would never heal from the scars of losing Henry, and you proved otherwise."

Regina had done all this for me. Regina made a whole party for me. She knew I hadn’t had anything like it. She knew I would refuse, and wanted to make me happy anyway. Snow kissed my cheek.

"Congratulations! You deserve this party.”

She pulled away from me and I looked around, searching for **her**. My heart was pounding, so strong that I could feel the echo in my eardrums. I needed to find Regina. I needed to tell her how much I loved her, and suddenly, everything had lost all importance. I wanted to be with her. Forever.

I saw her a few feet ahead, and walked up to her with quick, wide strides. I had urgency. Regina was smiling when she turned, and she didn’t have time to see what hit her. I grabbed her by the back of my neck and the other hand circled tight around her waist as I kissed her with the intensity of what I felt. My hand was tight on her neck, and she kissed me happily. I kept her there, clinging to me, ignoring the fact that we were in the middle of a party, ignoring the fact that we were in the midst of the whole population of the castle, to turn the subject over again, ignoring the fact that the world existed.

I pushed my lips away from her lips, but I kept my forehead clinging to hers as I caressed her face with the devotion of a lover. She smiled and held me against her, never separating us.

"What was this?"

"I love you."

She smiled, and looked into my eyes with sweetness. "Not as much as I love you, Robin."

 

I took her hand and twirled it so our bodies were connected. She took a dancing pose and I pulled her back. Her body was on mine again, our hands touching as I placed the other at the base of her spine and felt her putting her free hand on my shoulder. A melodious and harmonic timbre accompanied us and I guided her to the middle of the hall, our bodies dancing with synchronicity and delicacy. I would love to see her like this all my life.

Regina didn’t take her eyes off me for a second. A sweet smile hung over her lips, and her eyes were gentle, and I could not think of a reason to don’t put my heart into her hands. I was already completely hers, with no restraint.

"I can’t believe you did this for me."

"You saved my life, Robin."

"Was it just for that?"

"And because you are a very good kisser."

She gave a lovely laugh and I spun her, holding her in the next second, never letting her walk away from me. Regina was flexible to my driving, so it was lovely to dance with her, twirling her with love and adoration through the hall. I noticed that people were stopping and they kept their attention on us, at our chemistry that was burning and burning with every pass we made, every turn and every impulse I put in the dizzying dancer I had in my hands.

I slipped under her arm and twirled her again, so that our hearts had already blended into the beat, they had melted together and dancing now was only a side effect. Regina was light and flowing in my hand and I spun her again, before guiding her so that we crossed the room from one end to the other and then back to the center.

She was so smiling, so... Incredibly beautiful.

I reached out and pulled her to me, placing her on my thigh and kissing her.

All around us, fervent applause filled the hall.

 

***  


  
  
I watched her as Regina chatted animatedly with Snow. They were looking at me over and over and I smiled. I was silly for her. Crazy in love with her. There was no way to disguise it and I didn’t mind.

"Robin." 

I turned to the side and came across David.

"Prince."

"Happy birthday, Hood." David held out his hand and I squeezed it, but I didn’t let it go. I pulled him towards me and hugged him like good brothers do. We were friends and we had a disagreement. There’s all.

In fact, I wanted to be a better man. That was Regina's effect.

When I let David out, he looked sheepish.

"Robin, about what happened..."

"It’s fine, David. It was a stressful time. Your wife is pregnant, I had screwed up. It's all right."

He still looked embarrassed and it only showed how good he was as a man. A decent man. David had qualities of gold. It was certainly what they meant by Prince Charming. He and Snow White had been made for each other, really.

"I want to give you something like refund for what I did."

"Do you know what you can give me, David?"

He looked up curiously. "Name it and it will be yours."

"Make Snow White happy. Love her as you have never loved anyone, not even yourself. Take care of that child, protect them. Be the man she loves. That's what you can do for me."

David nodded. "I will, Robin Hood."

Regina came to us, her eyes shining and a restrained smile. She smiled discreetly at the prince. "David."

"Regina," he replied, bending over haphazardly before pulling away.

She turned to me and held it in my hand. "Let's go? We have a picnic to go to."

"But what about Roland?"

"Snow White will stay with him."

"Where shall we go?"

Regina smiled at me, and kissed my cheek. The next minute a purple smoke surrounded us.

 

***  


We were by the sea shore. A green towel lay on the grass, with a basket - waiting for us. I turned to her, who was looking intently into my face and kissed her, dancing very slowly with her. She held me gently and I kissed her again and again, I wanted to memorize that feeling, that taste, the warmth of her embrace.

 "Let's eat..." She whispered, pulling away a little and pulling me into the towel.

I watched as she took off her heels and tossed her hair to the other side of her neck as she knelt beside the basket. Regina was an angel. I sat down beside her, and watched her pull the fruit and candy out of the basket. She put a strawberry in her mouth and bit a piece, and I pulled her hand in my direction, ripping the rest of the fruit from her hand with my mouth. She smiled. The sun was falling delicately behind the mountains, and the weather was deliciously hot. We could spend the night there. In fact, beside her, it might be snowing - I would still spend the night there.

"You're very quiet, Robin."

She crawled up to me and kissed me gently, before sitting down between my legs. She rested her back on my abdomen so that her head snapped against the top of my collarbone, her face just below the line of my jaw. I hugged her and we stayed like that, nestled watching the sun go down. My hands were resting on my knees, but her hands were sliding over my arm, touching each jutted vein on the skin, each scar, caressing my tattoo with adoration.

"I love you, Regina."

I heard a low laugh. "I know. You already said."

"You don’t understand what that means."

"It means that you love me."

I stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "It means that I can’t live without you anymore. It means that I want you to be mine. That I want you and me and Roland to be a family. It took a long time for my heart to beat like this again, Regina. I don’t want to waste a minute anymore.”

"Don’t you think it's too early for this?"

"I think when you're sure of something, you can’t waste time."

Regina came out of the warmth of my lap and lay down on the towel, pushing the basket away. She smiled at me. "Come here."

I smiled and crawled to her, lowering my body over hers. I rested my elbows on the floor so that I could look into those beautiful eyes without losing my balance. Regina stroked my biceps and I kissed her fondly.

"Robin..." She whispered.

"Yes love."

"Do you love me?"

 "I thought you already knew."

"I like the sound of those words."

I smiled. She could be delicate and vulnerable in a way that was almost supernatural.

"I love you, Regina."

She gripped my face, and slid her hands, caressing my cheeks, my temples, my shoulders, until the fingers slid down the back of my neck. With a little pressure, she pulled my face into hers, stopping a few inches.

"Then love me with your body."

She closed her eyes as I kissed her, and I touched her body as if it were a precious and fragile vase. Finally, I could love her with the passion that burned in my chest. I could touch her body as she had touched my heart.

At least, I thought I would.

In a second, I was kissing that silky, soft body.

On the other, something sticky and hard wrapped around my neck, closing my trachea. I heard Regina's cry, and I tried to move, but something held me immobile against the trunk of a tree. I couldn’t breathe. Something pressed against my neck. I felt my body bleeding, somewhere. I opened my eyes. Regina was standing, her eyes red, her breath catching.

"Release him, Zelena!" She growled. I saw the fireball growing in her palm.

"Go ahead. Your boyfriend dies."

I felt whatever it was even stronger against my neck, and I almost fainted.

"Robin!" Her cry kept me awake.

There were winged monkeys all around her. I couldn’t move, again. This dèjavú made my stomach turn. I could see the desperation in Regina's body posture. She was torn between looking at me and looking at the witch in front of her.

"What do you want to release him? It's me that you want. You can take me. Let him go."

"Not! Regina! "I screamed, but my voice barely left my mouth.

She looked at me sadly. We had nothing to bargain for. We had gotten ourselves into a beak pool. We had left the castle alone. No one could help us.

"I have a better proposal."

Terrified, I watched Zelena pull a green apple from her pocket.

"Regina! Don’t do it! Don’t..." One of the vines circled the tree again, gagging me. The more I tried to move, the stronger the vines were against my skin. They would soon break my bones.

 "Am I Snow White now?" Ironized Regina, but I felt the sadness in her voice. She was going to sacrifice herself for me. No, no, no! Don’t do it! Look at me, Regina.

"You bite, accept the curse of sleep and take you with me. If this idiot finds you there, which I doubt, he can wake you up. That's if he's really your true love. I hope not, it would be a terrible bad taste, little sister..."

"Shut up, Zelena."

Regina reached out and cast her magic against me.

"What are you doing?" Zelena bellowed.

"I’m making sure that you won’t kill him."

"I didn’t mean it, anyway."

Regina looked at me, and I felt my chest tearing. She was saying goodbye. No. I don’t want it to be this way, Regina. Don’t do it. Please don’t. Tears streamed down her face and I was pretty sure I was crying too.

"I'm sorry, Robin."

"It's so dramatic! How beautiful!” Zelena sang, delighted by the suffering around her. Regina tore the apple from her hand, and looked at it with contempt. Her eyes returned to me.

"I love you. And I know you'll find me."

My heart stopped beating in the second that Regina brought the apple to her lips and bit it.

Her body immediately collapsed on the floor.

Regina was cursed.

Regina was asleep forever.

I had lost her.

A pain I had never felt was invading my blood cells. It was spreading through my body. My head was throbbing. Regina.

Regina.

I began to struggle furiously against the tree, my eyes filled with tears. She was there, a few feet away. I just needed to kiss her.

Regina!

I felt something fractured as I struggled violently against the tree, but I didn’t have time to analyze. A green cloud enveloped me and I fell asleep immediately.


	10. Chapter 10

> **Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into. (Mahatma Gandhi)**

 

"Robin!"

A desperate cry woke me up. I opened my eyes with an absurd pain taking over me. I was in the cabin. How did I get there? The last memory I had was Zelena's dense cloud. Ahead of me, Snow White, David and Leroy stared at me.

"Robin, where's Regina?"

I looked at my left arm. It was rolled up with a huge band of cloth and felt the presence of an iron plate beneath it. My arm was broken. Great. My head was throbbing so hard.

"Robin!"

I looked up and saw an apprehensive Snow White, almost desperate. She had been crying and her voice was trembling and frightened. She knew what had happened. She just needed me to verbalize it.

"Zelena is with her."

Snow started to cry and left the room. I felt bad for her. We knew what that meant.

"How did this happen?"

"Regina took us to the edge of the lake and Zelena seized the opportunity. It was an ambush. We were alone on the mountain."

"What kind of idea was this, Robin? Get out of the castle's protection? Just the two of you, alone?"

"It was not my idea, Nolan.” I snapped. I already had too many problems to deal beyond his petulance. "Regina made that choice. It could have happened here, it does not change anything. She almost caught Regina on the terrace, with all of us only a few feet away."

"Regina is smart, she'll think of something. She didn’t become Queen for lucky."

"About this..."

"Is there more?" Leroy asked.

I stared at the two men with some sadness. "Regina is not conscious."

"What do you mean by that? She's alive, right? "David looked worried.

"She's under the sleeping curse."

David stared blankly at me, and Leroy seemed about to faint.

"Regina is about the enchantment of the sleeping curse?"

 "She is."

"And why didn’t you kissed her?"

"Maybe because someone was holding me so tightly that it fractured one of my bones, who knows?"

I watched Leroy face the prince, and suppressed a smile at the insinuation he had made.

"Zelena is very powerful, David. Robin had no chance against her, not alone."

David seemed to rationalize it, his eyes on me. "And what shall we do now? We can’t leave Regina in her hands."

"I'll figure it out." I replied, getting out of bed. I picked up my belongings from the table next to the bed. They didn’t seem to understand what I was going to do. Maybe they thought I was crazy.

"What are you going to do? Go after her with a broken arm? At random? Without having the slightest idea about where Zelena took her?"

I put the bag and the bow over my free shoulder and walked up to face the blonde. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do. And no one, not even that sword in your holster will stop me."

David stared at me for a few minutes, but he realized I would not back down an inch. I watched him sigh deeply as his shoulders fell relaxed, indicating defeat.

"You don’t have to go alone, Hood. Let's reunite some men.”

"I was alone when I lost Regina, and I'll be alone when I get her back."

David walked away and I headed for the exit. It was as honorable as it was stupid. I still wasn’t fit. My whole body was sore. My head throbbed. My arm was broken. But I am a honored man. I didn’t protect Regina when she needed it, the least I could do now was rescue her.

"Good luck brother."

I nodded to Leroy and left without a word.

 

***  


 

I had lost track of how long I'd been walking. The sun was scorching, roasting every form of life that dared to lie under it. On my shoulders I carried some sort of groceries, but I sensed they would not last more than a few days. I don’t know many prayers. But at that moment, I was praying anything for Regina to stay alive and somehow, for me to find the right path. I descended the slope of a mountain, and all there was a scrub thin and corroded by the scorching sun. Walking is not a problem. I have walked for days and days in search of less important riches. Regina was the most precious diamond, the most massive gold, the most coveted treasure. I would drag my knees in the boulders of a stream for her. And it would make it smiling.

One of the best things about traveling alone is to have enough time and silence outside to make us think. And one of the worst things about traveling alone is having too much time to reflect. There is a biblical passage that says that Moses, in the vain attempt to get Ramses to free the Hebrew people, threw his staff on the ground and turned him into a serpent. Then the Egyptian magicians, in order not to accept their inferiority, launched their omens and repeated their feat. But the God of the Hebrews had a point to prove, and the serpent of Moses proceeded to devour the Egyptian serpents. No, I'm not dehydrated yet. What does that mean? Thoughts are like canes. You set them free, they turned into snakes and one thought devours the other that devours the other and suddenly you will be mad and furious because you can’t keep the voices inside your own mind.

Every time I set the horizon in front of me, and I see mountains and endless paths and realize that I have no idea where I'm going, I feel almost desperate. But images of them, images of Roland in Regina's lap, the sound of her laughter, her smile, the way they looked at each other with admiration and love makes it all worth it. I know, I don’t know why, but I know I'll find her. No matter how long it takes, the challenges to be faced, the struggles I have to fight. I'll bring her home.

A distant crash catches my eye. It came from the forest a few miles. To follow what is surely a potential danger is a good idea? When I look back, there is no castle anymore, there is no kingdom anymore. I'm alone, I have no idea where. But I squeeze the handle of my bag and hurry up, because it's been hours since I've been walking, and it can be late at any moment. Staying in the open and setting a precedent of vulnerability to whatever devil that walks these lands is not what I'm planning for tonight.

I see a rock and I sit down, I'm exhausted. Maybe I didn’t think about the fact that I had spent a week unconscious and that I woke up and embarked on such a stormy journey. I never think of the facts, and Regina always charged me for it. I smile. Regina's memories are like an icy breeze on this barren land, like water in the desert. I let my head lean forward and stare at the ground beneath my feet. Red sand, dry and dead. My boots are grimy, but I couldn’t care less. My head hurts and I feel a little dizzy. I didn’t come here to die without a fight. I sit on the floor and feel dizziness increase. Slowly, everything around me starts rotating clockwise. Slowly. My stomach shows the first signs of nausea. I won’t die. Not here. The thought makes the taste of bile reach my tonsils. I'll find Regina. I feel the involuntary reflex of my throat and vomit something, but I try courageously to get up. I won’t end up here. I need to continue. My knees give way and my elbows are stuck in the ground, and the last thing I remember before the darkness embraces me with tenderness is to look at the earth and whisper the name of the woman I love.

***  


My skin is hard. I’m probably dirty and burned. I have no idea how much time I slept. My throat is dry and already dusk and I am wandering in the gloom. I walk with difficulty, but I will continue my path. After all, I’m still alive.

About an hour later, I believe, I reach the first tree. I hear what seems to be the whistle of a flute. I think the hallucinations are starting. My body burns as a result of the time I spent unconscious under the abrasive sun. I don’t know this place, and it is difficult to find a place to be considered safe. Sleeping is actually an insecure attitude, but I still feel very weak. I look at the treetops. That’s it. I'm going to sleep on the tree. Privileged view and outside the sight of predators.

With some difficulty, I reach a suitable height. I wrap the rope around the branch and tie it securely to my body, holding me securely against a thick, massive trunk of a redwood tree. I won’t fall. It is enough until the morning.

Lying on the branch, I let the night illumination invade my eyes. In the sky, bright stars blink. The moon is imposing upon them, large and full and makes me think of the person for whom I embarked on this adventure. I wonder if she'll be okay. I know she's alive. Something burns in my chest like a precise and consistent flame, a constant reminder that she's waiting for me somewhere. I can feel her with me even without knowing where she is. I regret many things. I regret not having loved her the way I should have. I regret not having realized how dangerous it was to distance ourselves from the castle. I regret not having defended Regina as a man. Many regrets surround me now. But if there is something I do not regret, it is to be here and now. It was with this thought that I fell asleep again.

 

***  
  


"Look at that jerk." Zelena hissed, watching Robin tied to the branch through her magic mirror. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Regina lying gently on an ice and glass coffin, overturned by the immaculate sleep of the curse. "He thinks he'll get to you, sis."

Laughing, Zelena twirled her fingers and administered her magic. "Let's make the thief sweat a little."

 

***

  
  
An unusual vibration of the tree made me wake up. The sun blinds me for a moment. The tree swayed in an unusual way, and it took only a few seconds to figure out what was going on. A few meters below, on the ground, there is a flock of beasts, ferocious and hideous animals that look like an unsuccessful mix of a bear and a lion. They gnaw violently at the wood, trying to make the trunk give way and I fell on them - an enriched breakfast. The beasts emit a sound that resembled a dog growl, but much more aggressive and deep, almost hoarse. I've never seen anything like it. I've never heard anything like it.

 I look around and calculate where to jump. The tree shakes violently and I hold onto the trunk. With difficulty, I pass an arrow over the bow and seconds later, I drop one of them. Great. I feel when the wood of the tree gives way. A hollow noise makes itself present, and I immediately leap into the nearest tree, almost slipping. I stare at the tree where I was falling hard on the ground. They are strong, and they are in the pack. Think, Robin. Use your head. I jump from one tree to the other, trying to gain time to think. Where are those thousands of useless thoughts now?

I leap into another tree, but I can’t find the base I need to hold. They break the root of the tree in minutes, and I fall limp on the hard ground. My chest burns, my heart pounds faster and I'm sure the fracture in my arm increased. I hear the snarls, a strange sequence - as if they could talk to each other - and start running.

I run like I've never run before. I don’t know where the force that moves me comes from. I don’t know where the muscle strength for the performance I'm performing comes from. I can only tell that I ran, listening to the growls behind the back of my neck and its disgusting wet halide of old blood. It’s like to feel the breath of death right behind you. My bow tangled in the tree and I keep running. My bow or my life. My bow or my life, my bow or my life, my bow or... I keep running. I need to stay alive. Finding the bow is impossible now. I trip on a rough trunk, and fall a few feet forward.

I try to get up, but I feel hard, sharp fangs cutting through the flesh of my leg. I scream, so much pain that now vibrates strongly over my whole body. I kick the beast's face with my other foot and begin to limp, running as I can. But the blood spreads and I can’t run much. My whole leg hurts, nerves crawl desperately through the hole of blood and flesh left over there. I can’t breathe right, my throat is sore, I’m out of breath. I take an arrow from the quiver and stop running, which gives me the exact time to shove it with my own hands on the temple of one of the beasts - which falls dead on my feet. I keep running, or whatever I'm trying to do, since my leg is gushing blood and I feel a painfully painful grief taking over my body.

I was running when I thumped violently into something and fell to the ground and by the scary growl, I discover to be another monstrous beast. It hit its paw in my chest, tearing me. I howl for pain but I don’t let go of my arrows. I feel its overwhelming weight as it jumps over me and I hit the arrow on its chest like a spear. However, I couldn’t predict the next move. In the impulse of pain, the beast dropped its weight on my fractured arm.

My heart stops for a few seconds, so much pain does it cause me. I feel my blood splatter in my veins. The pain is insane. Unbearable. My stomach is tense, just like my whole body. The beast is advancing and I close my eyes, sure it will end like this.

I hear a tinkling of swords.

Swords?

I open my eyes, and I see a woman, of old age, with a sharp sword knocking the beast that bleeds exaggeratedly.

"Are you fine, my dear?" She asks, and her voice is delicate and tender.

Am I hallucinating? I must have lost a lot of blood and I'm seeing things. But she thrust the sword into the throat of one of the beasts with propriety before approaching me. "Get up, my dear. We need to get out of here.”

With difficulty, I stand up. I realize that I am very hurt when I try to balance using the support she offers me. I stumble to the wooden wagon she guides me to. I fall on the wood of the trunk and pick myself up, feeling my whole body shake. I breathe pain, I think pain, I speak pain. My mind is ringing a loud and annoying alarm indicating pain. I think of what I just saw. An elderly lady, with gray hair, mercilessly killing the beasts that almost killed me. I smile. I can only be hallucinating.

I hear the distant growl and wonder whether other beasts are approaching.

Everything turns black again.


End file.
